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U.S. House Democrats Push for Congressional Hearing on Child Labor Violations

'This surge in child labor violations is happening while WHD has had steadily decreasing resources to invest in enforcement,' lawmakers said.

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WASHINGTON 鈥 Top Democrats on the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee are urging Republican Chair Virginia Foxx of North Carolina to hold a hearing this month on the uptick in child labor violations.

Democratic Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking member of the committee, and Alma Adams of North Carolina, the ranking member of a panel on workplace safety, outlined their concerns that the Department of Labor鈥檚 Wage and Hour Division has shown 鈥渁 near quadrupling of the number of children involved in child labor violations since 2015.鈥

鈥淭his surge in child labor violations is happening while WHD has had steadily decreasing resources to invest in enforcement,鈥 the lawmakers wrote in a

During fiscal 2022, there were 835 companies that employed more than 3,800 children in violation of labor laws, according to data from the Wage and Hour Division. That鈥檚 an increase from fiscal 2015, when 542 companies employed more than 1,000 children in violation of labor laws.

Scott and Adams are asking for a hearing so that members of the committee can understand the 鈥渟cope of the child labor problem confronting the country and the legislative solutions to address it.鈥

In a statement to States Newsroom, Foxx said Democrats鈥 request for a hearing is 鈥渁ll for show,鈥 and that Republicans on the committee grilled Acting DOL Secretary Julie Su on Wednesday about reports on child labor violations for migrant children. Su has been nominated by President Joe Biden as labor secretary.

Foxx said the issue will likely come up again when Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on June 13.

鈥淒OL needs to answer for a 37 percent increase in child labor violations in the previous year alone,鈥 she said.

鈥淲hen you weigh the seriousness of Committee Democrats鈥 request for a hearing on child labor violations, consider this: they spent four hours sitting in a room with Acting Secretary Su and not once did they ask a pointed question about the DOL鈥檚 failure to address this problem,鈥 Foxx continued. 鈥淲hy would we expect their hearing to be any different?鈥

Legislation in the states

Multiple states have , a push that鈥檚 come from businesses and conservative lawmakers, States Newsroom has reported. found a McDonald鈥檚 in Kentucky had children as young as 10 working past midnight and operating deep fryers.

Republicans and Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight & Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs about multiple reports on unaccompanied migrant children  exploited as workers in U.S. meatpacking plants and elsewhere.

In their letter to Foxx, Scott and Adams added that Democrats are working on their own piece of legislation 鈥渢o toughen penalties for child labor violations and unsafe workplaces that harm children, expand research and expertise on these issues, update standards about occupations too hazardous for the employment of children, and track the statistics on the scope of child labor violations.鈥

They quoted the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a 1937 message to Congress asking for passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which was enacted and regulates child labor in the United States: 鈥淎 self-supporting and self-respecting democracy can plead no justification for the existence of child labor.鈥

Scott and Adams added: 鈥淣evertheless, as we near the 85th anniversary of that landmark law later this month, the 鈥榚xistence of child labor鈥 still looms large.鈥

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Shaun Griswold for questions: [email protected]. Follow Source New Mexico on and .

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